Psychological stress causes release of the hormone cortisol, which, in turn, promotes the accumulation of abdominal fat, a feature of metabolic syndrome that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

Psychological stress can also trigger binge eating of fatty and sweet foods, leading to overall weight gain. Those who are stress eaters tend to gain more abdominal fat during stressful periods compared to those who don’t

So can lowering your stress help you lose weight, especially that belly fat?

Yes, according to a University of California study just published in the Journal of Obesity. Researchers found that obese people can reduce cortisol levels through mindfulness programs for stress eating.

This approach is characterized by an open, non-judgmental stance toward present-moment experience to redirect habitual thoughts and behaviors toward more healthy choices. The idea is to break the eating-for-stress-relief cycle so common among the overweight.

Mindfulness is based on awareness of bodily experiences related to hunger, fullness, taste preferences and emotional triggers for eating.

Originally developed for binge-eating disorder, initial clinical trials observed reductions in binge-eating, depression and weight. The UC researchers set out to discover whether mindfulness training would reduce stress hormones and abdominal fat accumulation.

In the study, 47 overweight and obese women were randomly assigned to a 4-month mindfulness intervention. Several variables were tracked, including mindfulness, psychological distress, eating behavior, weight, morning cortisol levels, and abdominal fat distribution both before and after mindfulness treatment.

While exciting, the authors caution that the results are preliminary and need to be confirmed in larger trials. The optimal amount of time for training, whether the results deteriorate over time and what subgroups may be more responsive to the intervention than others aren’t know.

However, it stands to reason that people who improve their mindfulness and responsiveness to body sensations, and subsequently reduce anxiety and eating in response to external food cues, will tend to reduce eating in response to emotional triggers and minimize unhealthful abdominal obesity.